The Rays and the Initiations

by Alice A Bailey

  At this initiation the Initiator is attended by two groups of Beings; one is a small group of the “Knowers of the Purpose, the Custodians of the Will,” and the other is a much larger group, the personnel of which are known as “The Wise Ones and the Attractive Energies of Shamballa.” I am of course endeavouring to translate certain brief words and intricate symbols into phrases which you can understand and which only dimly convey the true significance of Those Who function on this highest level of the cosmic physical plane. On this level, dynamic electricity is held as in a great reservoir of potency and is directed by these two groups which embody the will and the quality of the will of Deity, called by us the Will-to-Good. They are the directing Agents and are a correspondence to the ajna centre of mankind, only here it is the ajna centre of the planetary Logos, in the same sense as Shamballa is His head centre, the Hierarchy His heart centre and Humanity His creative throat centre. Motion, planned activity and the seven great creative ray energies are directed into action by Them under the influence of the seven Ray Lords; the Ray Lords are embodied livingness qualified by the seven aspects of Love, but Who are Themselves of so high an order that They cannot function as directing creative Agents but work through Their trained and developed Representatives.

  [734] Just as there is a group of Contemplative Initiates, called in the Eastern phraseology “Nirmanakayas,” Who function in deep meditation at a point midway between the Hierarchy and Shamballa, so this much higher group of Ray Lords function in the deepest cosmic meditation between our planet, the Earth, and our sister planet, Venus. You would find it useful to read with care The Secret Doctrine and A Treatise on Cosmic Fire and refresh your minds as to this relationship. A lower correspondence to these two important groups has been forming midway between the Hierarchy and Humanity, and to it we give the name of the New Group of World Servers. All these three groups are fundamentally “transmitters of energy”; the two highest are exceedingly susceptible to cosmic impression and to the vibratory quality of the extra-planetary body of Avatars Who hold Themselves in readiness to function as destroying or building Energies in any part of our solar system and are under the direction of the Solar Logos.

  The Avatar of Synthesis, Who is working in cooperation with the Christ, is one of Them. Bear in mind that these extra-planetary Avatars have not arrived at Their high state of spiritual unfoldment on our planet or even in our solar system. Their origin, source and spiritual relationships are a great mystery even to the planetary Logoi—to Whose help They go when the invocative appeal of any planet is adequate. Think not that They come to put wrong right or to arrest evil. A few, a very few, may do so, but They work along the line of the seven ray energies in the solar system and produce certain energy effects desired at any particular time; the constructive work of the Avatar of Synthesis will be apparent to you in the name He is known by; He is coming to the Earth in order to further the manifestation of unity, of oneness and of inter-relation, and He comes, therefore, to wield and apply first ray energy. He will charge or galvanise the three groups—the directing Agents in Shamballa, the Nirmanakayas and the New Group of World Servers—with dynamic energy and, in a mysterious way, relate them to each other so that a [735] new synthesis and alignment will be present upon the Earth. All these Avatars embody energy to the extent that any particular planet is capable of receiving it.

  These are interesting items of information but are only of value in so far as they convey to you a sense of planetary integrity and of solar synthesis, and present to you a closer spiritual inter-relation in which you, as individuals, can share if you are linking your fate and service to that of the New Group of World Servers. Then you will be in the direct line of spiritual descent, of divine energy; in this thought you have the clue to the doctrine (so travestied and misused) of the Apostolic Succession. The details, the personnel and the techniques of the two higher groups lie beyond your ken; They work in cooperation with the planetary Logos Himself, and Those Who compose these groups are all initiates of degrees higher than the fifth. Most of the Nirmanakayas have taken the sixth and the seventh initiations, whilst the group which functions midway between the Earth and Venus have all taken the eighth and ninth initiations. Some of Them, as I mentioned earlier, aid the initiate of the seventh degree; a still larger group of them participate in the activities of the two final initiations.

  This seventh initiation gives the initiate the right to “come and go in the courts of Shamballa” as Their work may dictate and Their service may require. It is there also that he goes for the needed periodic or cyclic re-chargings which enable him to work.

  There is one aspect of initiation which is apt to be overlooked. Every initiation is a process of energy transmission from a higher centre of energy to a lower; every initiation charges the initiate with electrical force, and this charging and re-charging is related to what H.P.B. calls “the mystery of electricity “ These transmissions of energy enhance the magnetic-attractive force of the initiate, and at the same time are eliminative in their effects. In this fact lies a great planetary truth and the key to the science of planetary redemption. When the spiritual and the electrical [736] charging of the three major centres on the planet—Shamballa, the Hierarchy and Humanity—has reached a high stage of receptive efficiency, a certain cosmic Avatar will “become conscious of the vibratory quality of the little point of light within the solar sphere” and will then “turn His gaze and send His force unto that point of light, and cosmic evil will be driven out and find no more a place on Earth.”

  Two more initiations remain to be considered, but so high is their potency and so mysterious their working that I find myself unable to deal with them in any way. They are:

  Initiation VIII. The Great Transition - Initiation IX. The Refusal

  It will of course be apparent that the Transition referred to is related to the sixth Initiation of Decision, when the Master decides which of the seven Paths He will follow to His destined place. I know not what the Great Refusal involves. One thing only I know: It indicates the Initiate's last contact with what we understand as cosmic evil, manifesting on this planet and in relation to the planet. He is accorded this last contact, but such a contact is not based upon anything analogous to evil within Him, but is based upon the “planetary appeal for liberation.” This appeal is so strong that the Initiate—because His heart is on fire with love—is tempted to go back upon His decision and stay upon the planet with Those World Saviours Who have chosen the Path of Earth Service. This He may not do, and in the sight of the assembled Initiates He makes His refusal and “does His whole duty as He journeys to the sacred Feet of the ONE WHO stands at the end of His chosen Path.”

  Again, we come up against the outstanding planetary characteristic which has been presented to us under many differing words, i.e., the sensitivity which in some form or another distinguishes each initiation. We know it also as attraction, the sensitivity which moves outward until it attracts and draws to itself those forms of being which the initiate can instruct or aid; we know it also as the overall [737] activity conferring that spiritual sensory perception which makes the initiate aware—in a universal sense—of all that concerns the sphere of influence of the Will of God. This demonstrates particularly at the eighth Initiation of Transition. In the ninth Initiation of Refusal, this heightened spiritual perception is presented to us under the word “Existence,” for existence is a livingness coupled with awareness which “finds its own place and the spiritual house of its Being which is the true home of all Beings, but of this—our planetary forms know naught.” This the initiate has at last learnt to find, after the struggle with evil in himself, after the struggle with materialism and with evil in the human family, and after his struggle to aid in the “closing of the door where evil dwells” and his refusal to make any contact (even with good intention) with cosmic evil.

  The planetary Lodge of Masters has absorbed Him and, at the final initiation, the Great Lodge on Sirius has recognised Him, and with the
Black Lodge of Adepts He will have nothing to do. He will mitigate its evil effects and will struggle to offset its results, but He knows that the final overcoming of cosmic physical evil must be undertaken by Existences much further advanced than even the Members of the Council Chamber at Shamballa; certain solar Entities and certain great Lives from Sirius are dealing with the problem.

  The theme of the living consciousness of the planetary Logos is forever and unchangeably the great Hierarchy of Being, that chain of life in which the smallest link is of importance, and the greatest link is related to the smallest through the electrical interplay of spiritual energy. There is naught—from one important angle of life—but Hierarchy, linking sun with sun, star with star, solar system with solar system, planet with planet and all planetary lives with each other. The major keynote of every single planetary initiation, even to the very highest, is RELATIONSHIP. What other qualities may be revealed to the Initiate on other paths we know not, but the goal of all endeavour upon our planet is right relations between man and man [738] and between man and God, between all expressions of divine life, from the tiniest atom up and on into infinity.

  From the standpoint of our planetary evolution, there is naught but love, naught but goodwill and the will-to-good. This exists already, and its true manifestation is nearer today than at any time in planetary history.

  From stage to stage, from crisis to crisis, from point to point and from centre to centre, the life of God progresses, leaving greater beauty behind it as it moves through one form after another and from kingdom to kingdom. One attainment leads to another; out of the lower kingdoms man has emerged, and (as a result of human struggle) the kingdom of God will also appear. The bringing in of that kingdom is all that truly concerns humanity today, and all living processes in mankind are bent towards preparing each individual human being to pass into that kingdom. The knowledge that there may be greater manifestations than even the kingdom of God may be inspiring, but that is all. The manifestation of the Kingdom of God on Earth, the preparing of the way for its great Inaugurator, the Christ, the making possible the externalisation of the Hierarchy upon Earth give us each and all a fully adequate task and something for which to live and work, to dream and to aspire.

  The five volumes composing A Treatise on the Seven Rays are now completed, my brothers. It has been for me a labour of love and for A.A.B. a labour! It will suffice for study for many years to come.

  May light and love and power shine upon your ways, and may you in due time and with as little delay as possible stand before the Initiator and join the ranks of Those Who—actively and consciously—love Their fellowmen, work as reconstructive and regenerative Energies and forever—SERVE.

  I sign myself, because it has been given out who I am, as the Master Djwhal Khul.

  THE TIBETAN

  APPENDIX

  FIVE GREAT SPIRITUAL EVENTS

  [741] (Written February 1949)

  You (A.A.B.) have asked me what I considered the most important and significant events from the spiritual angle at this present time. This question highlights a theme which is exceedingly apposite, following as it does upon what I have just given anent the Great Renunciation (see pages 602-614) and its consequent revelation or (as the Christian churches call them) the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The Christian resurrection is, however—from the angle of the great Lodge on Sirius—only a minor one and a passing resurrection, though the revelation subsequently accorded is lasting and permanent in its effects.

  There are five great spiritual events in which all humanity is today sharing, and two which will take place later, when the first five have established their lasting effects.

  These events are based upon a forced and not upon a spontaneous renunciation (as is the case in the true experience of the Renunciation Initiation); they will lead nevertheless to a revelation which is imminent in its dawning and which will confront humanity before so very long.

  The war of 1914-1945 is over; its aftermath of suffering, famine, selfish reactions, suspicion and unseemly struggle for supremacy is equally as bad as the past war; the effects are more lasting, because the war has been largely transferred to the mental plane. The physical effects of war are far more easily obliterated than are the mental effects. The great question with which the Hierarchy is today faced is: Will the race of men succeed in renouncing their present material objectives and so prepare the way for a great revelation? The Coming of the Christ Himself is not the revelation which is to be accorded, but He will simplify the thinking of men so that a widespread illumination and [742] recognition of the revelation will be possible. The next few years will indicate the way the tide will turn, and whether the reactionary, material and selfish forces which have controlled for millenia of years will finally control. This reactionary and material spirit taints every department of human life, and the churches are no exception. Humanity can, however, learn its lesson and turn thankfully to the “way of righteousness” and to the hitherto unknown technique of right human relations.

  I seek not to deal in detail with the evil which holds the world in thrall. Enough is already known and a small handful (small in comparison to the many millions) of hierarchical workers in all departments of life are struggling to awaken humanity to the risks they are running, and to the finality of the decision which the next two generations will be forced to make. More will come to the surface as we study present-day happenings from the angle of renunciation and resurrection.

  I would like first of all to point out that:

  1. The mass of the people are sound, but ignorant of the higher values; that can be slowly righted. They are negative as yet in action, and prone to words and not deeds. They are easily led and also easily swayed by imparted fears.

  2. The evil in the world and that which is primarily guilty of swaying the masses at this time is focussed through a few powerful men or groups of powerful men. No country is free from this control, or from this attempted control. These powerful groups are swayed in their turn by the forces of evil—forces which were not “sealed in their own place,” because the plan of love and light and power still lacks positive and worldwide presentation.

  3. The aspirants, disciples and spiritual workers of the world are not acting in full concert with the Hierarchy. They are swayed by fear, by a sense of futility and by a too acute understanding of the nature of the forces of evil with which they are confronted. The picture of what must be accomplished looms too large; there is little organised [743] cooperation among them, and no welding together into a united group for world salvage and service.

  The spiritual opportunity is, however, emerging with increasing clarity in the minds of thinking men and women, even if it is not expressed by them in orthodox (so-called) terms or in recognised or spiritual terms. Perhaps a clear statement of that which the active spiritual Forces are seeking to bring about may prove helpful. If the Forces of Evil are active and organised, the Forces of Light are equally active, but not so well organised. The basic goal is the freedom and the liberation of mankind, but the spiritual workers are handicapped by the fact that men themselves must make free choice and decision in order to be free; they can only be liberated when they—as individuals and later as groups—liberate themselves from the expressed thought-control of the powerful dominating groups and from the fears which these groups intentionally engender. Freedom can never be conferred through totalitarian methods; liberation cannot come through a dictator or dictating groups. A realisation of the manner in which the hierarchical forces are working and a recognition that all men are today immersed in vital spiritual happenings may serve to encourage the faithful and give a quickening vision to those who are struggling on behalf of human freedom.

  What are the five spiritual events in which all are consciously or unconsciously participating? Let me list them:

  1. The crisis of the ideologies.

  2. The steady awakening of men everywhere to better understanding.

  3. The growth of goo
dwill, as it reveals cleavages.

  4. The partial sealing of the door where evil dwells.

  5. The use of the Great Invocation.

  These are the five deepest spiritual events happening in the world today. The two which lie ahead in the not too distant future (but which depend upon humanity availing itself of the present opportunity) are:

  6. The closer Approach of the Hierarchy.

  7. The imminent Return of the Christ. [744]

  1. The Crisis of the Ideologies

  Men are today confronted with conflicting and antagonistic ideologies or schools of thought, and automatically—according to their background, tradition, training and place of birth—they regard some one of these ideas as true and all the others as false and wrong. They are apt to forget that according to the locale of birth, the national mode of schooling and the nature of the national propaganda, so will be the chosen ideology or the imposed ideology. Very few people are free agents, even in the democracies. A man born in Central Russia, for instance, knows nothing but Communism; he cannot imagine another suitable form of government; again, a man born in the United States or in Great Britain boasts and is pleased that he was born in a democracy, but the accident of birth accounts largely for his attitude. Men need to remember these things and not blame each other for the place in which they are born! We have, therefore, ideologies and their opponents, great schools of thought and modes of government, confronted by organised opposition. One basic premise can be laid down: The platform of the leading ideologies is not necessarily wrong or wicked; it is the imposition by force and by a police state of an ideology, and its use by powerful men or groups for their own benefit, plus the keeping of the people in blind ignorance so that no free choice is theirs—which is fundamentally wicked and evil.